1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates, in general, to containers and, more specifically, to containers incorporating a waste material compactor apparatus.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
Today's modern society is generating ever increasing amounts of waste material, such as refuse, garbage and trash, which must be efficiently removed from the residential home or commercial establishment.
One common way of disposing of trash and refuse and, in particular, refuse generated in a residential home, is through the use of a conventional waste receptacle or garbage can into which is inserted a flexible bag, such as a plastic garbage bag. The refuse is deposited in the bag, and when it is full, the open end of the bag is closed and tied off before the bag is removed from the container and taken to the disposal site. Although this waste disposal system is effective at providing a quick and easy method of disposing of refuse, it is not without drawbacks. Typically, the refuse or trash generated in a residential home includes many cans, cartons and other types of containers which consume a considerable amount of space or volume within the waste receptacle but weigh very little. Thus, a considerable number of trash bags are utilized to collect and dispose of the refuse or trash. In order to fit more refuse into the bag supported in the container, the residential home owner can manually compact the refuse by pushing down on top of the refuse in the container by hand. At best, this is a dirty, inconvenient task.
Due to the volume of waste material that is typically generated in a residential home, a considerable number of trashbags are used. Thus, the expense of waste material disposal is increased due to the ever increasing cost of the plastic bags and, as the number of such bags typically used increases, so does the time required to dispose of the waste.
The waste material also includes objects such as cans, containers, etc., having sharp corners or edges which can easily rip or tear the flexible plastic bag. This leads to spillage of the refuse from the bag as it is being carried to the disposal site which again creates additional work and increased costs. One solution is to utilize a plastic bag having increased wall thickness in order to provide greater tear or rip resistance. However, these bags have a considerably higher cost and are still susceptible to ripping due to the sharp edges of the containers jutting through the bag when the bag is lifted out of the refuse container and carried to the disposal site.
It is also known to provide a mechanically operated compactor unit for reducing the volume of refuse or trash generated in a residential home or commercial establishment. Such units are typically stand alone devices operated by electrical power and through a ram and associated drive mechanism compact the refuse deposited in a suitable bag mounted in the compactor unit. Although effective, these units consume energy, are bulky and expensive.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a waste material disposal apparatus which overcomes the problems of similar prior art refuse disposal devices. It would also be desirable to provide a waste material disposal apparatus which provides more efficient collection of waste material. It would also be desirable to provide a waste material disposal apparatus in which the occurrence of rips or tears in the bag during compacting are minimized. It would also be desirable to provide a waste disposal system which is usable with flexible bags and, in particular, plastic bags. Finally, it would be desirable to provide a waste material disposal apparatus which enables thinner plastic bags to be used for the collection and disposal of waste material.